Macon community, schools working to improve youth literacy. Here’s how you can help

Georgia Milestones test scores were released in late July, showing that Bibb County schools made gains in reading post-pandemic but still have room for improvement, school officials said.

The school year has just begun, and the Macon community is putting boots on the ground by working to help the school district close literacy gaps in comparison to state numbers.

Last school year’s test results showed that 57.7% of fifth graders in the Bibb County School District read at their grade level or above — up 2.5% from spring 2023 scores but still lower than the statewide average of 72%.

The district’s third, fifth, seventh, eighth and eleventh graders improved on the American Literature test, said Ethel Lett, the district’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

But 61% of the county’s fourth graders read below grade level, according to the state’s Milestones Dashboard.

Fredrick Sterdivant, director of Fathers Among Men, said holistic community involvement is the key to improving Macon students’ academic performance.

“We have to think of creative ways to incorporate reading into the regular activities of our youth’s lives,” he said after suggesting combining reading sessions with sports programs. “We have to get them to understand the importance of reading outside of school settings.”

Sterdivant is working to implement a pilot mentoring program in Macon elementary schools that would encourage reading discussions among a small group of students, followed by a trip to Urban Aire Trampoline and Adventure Park, he said.

With more mentors involved in additional schools, Stirdivant believes the program could address Macon-Bibb’s long-term challenges of teen violence and low reading scores.

“Reading forces them to think more and expand their horizons, which gives them more opportunities and makes them less likely to give into criminality,” he said.

Mentoring programs must first be approved by the Office of Student Affairs, said the district’s spokesperson.

‘It takes a community to raise a reader’

Carl Tims, chief operating officer of United Way of Central Georgia, said it’s important for students to read on grade level by the third grade to help boost Milestones test scores and graduation rates.

“It’s the highest indicator of whether they’re going to graduate high school,” Tims said.

The Bibb County School District makes up 67% of the schools participating in United Way of Central Georgia’s Read United, a comprehensive literacy initiative aimed at closing reading performance gaps, Tims said. Students get one-on-one tutoring with volunteers from September through May.

The key to increased reading scores is repetition, Tims said. Families should reinforce teachers’ classroom lessons or the Reading United volunteers’ lesson plans at home, he added.

Lett said the community has to do a better job of pushing reading at home, or anywhere.

“Let’s push reading in stores or in church,” Lett said. “We’ve got to make sure we allow an opportunity for students to interact with text anywhere and that they comprehend what they’re reading.”

Lett also encourages parents to expose their children to print reading as early as possible.

“A lot of our kids come to Pre-K, and they don’t have a big enough vocabulary to push them into that early reading area,” she said.

Sterdivant said it takes a community to raise a reader.

Youth can join other local programs that also work to bolster literacy skills in Macon: 100 Black Men of Macon-Middle Georgia Inc., Appleton Family Ministries, Lead Literacy and the Macon-Bibb Mayor’s Literacy Alliance.

What BCSD is doing

Bibb County schools have seen an increase in developing learners since 2021, which means that more students are demonstrating partial proficiency in grade level skills and need additional help to prepare for career readiness.

“This year, the kids and staff are excited to see that we made gains. We may not be at 100 percent, but we’re better than we were last year,” Lett said.

To maintain its growth, the district is training teachers in the science of reading, Lett said. School officials also conduct monthly assessments that analyze student performance and identify how to better support both students and educators in needed areas, she added.

This allows the district to proactively make improvements ahead of time before Milestones testing arrives.

Literacy reinforcement has also come from the state level, with full-time literacy coaches assigned this year to eight underperforming elementary schools in Macon to boost reading scores.

Lett said Milestones testing is just one measure of student success, but reading is essential for success at any stage of life.

“As we are grooming our leaders for success and take over for us later in life, they have to be strong leaders that are literate,” Lett said.

This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 7:00 AM.